Sunlight Incarnate
by FuelledByEarlGreyTea
Summary: What if the angel Raziel hadn't consulted his heavenly superiors before creating the Shadowhunters? The other angels had tolerated the Shadowhunters, for they helped rid Earth of demons - but when Valentine and Sebastian threaten the safety of the planet, Gabriel decides he has had enough. AU where Sebastian was partially raised by Lilith. Alternate version of CoLS.
1. Chapter 1

So this first chapter focuses more on Jace and Sebastian than any actual plot, but the plot is coming soon, I promise!

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Jace glanced over his shoulder at the door, his nerves on edge. He couldn't decide whether to shut the door or not, and had finally decided to keep it open so there was less chance of him being heard.

Sebastian probably wouldn't be back for hours, but like hell was Jace taking the risk.

Jace pulled open the first drawer, and revealed pairs of balled-up socks. Sighing, he tried the next one, and the next one, until finally he came across something that weren't items of clothing.

"Victory," breathed Jace, unearthing a small sheaf of papers triumphantly.

It was last week when Jace had walked in on Sebastian fervently writing something on a piece of paper torn out of a notebook. As soon as Jace opened the door, Sebastian had jumped about a mile in the air as though he had been electrified, his pale skin flushing crimson. Jace was so intrigued by this very un-Sebastian-like behaviour that he was determined to find out what Sebastian had been writing.

It also happened to be the day that Jace regained his mind.

Jace began to read the first sheet of paper. _My beautiful one... _began the poem.

His eyes widened in astonishment. My beautiful one? _Poetry?_

Gleefully, Jace scanned the rest of the papers. All love poetry, to an unnamed _beautiful one. _No wonder Sebastian had looked like he was going to kill him when he'd walked in. Jace found himself grinning, even though he knew full well that Sebastian really _would _kill him if he found out Jace had been reading his secret poetry.

But who on Earth were these poems about? Jace didn't even know Sebastian was capable of feeling love, let alone writing _poetry _about the object of his affections. How many people did Sebastian even know?

Jace had just finished smirking to himself and was about to replace the papers in the drawer when the bedroom door burst open, causing Jace to gasp in shock and step back reflexively, hitting his hip on the corner of the bedside table. He winced, then smiled weakly at a horrified Sebastian.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" demanded Sebastian. His eyes flicked to the papers. "Are those my..."

"Love poems? Yeah. You're um, back early..."

Sebastian crossed the room and yanked the papers out of Jace's hands so violently that one of the sheets tore, leaving Jace clutching a small piece of paper that had the words _light of my life_ written on it.

"Why were you looking at these?" Sebastian brandished the poems at him, wild-eyed. "Do you think you have the _right _to look through my personal belongings?"

Jace bit back the sarcastic reply he was going to make. _Careful. _"I'm sorry," faltered Jace. "I was just curious, that's all. I wanted to know what you were so keen to hide from me the other day."

With a faint blush covering his cheeks, Sebastian stuffed the papers back into the drawer. Jace had no doubt that he would find another hiding place for them once Jace had gone. "It's none of your business," snapped Sebastian.

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Right. So who is your _beautiful one?"_

Sebastian's blush intensified. "That's none of your business either. Now get out."

Jace didn't move. "Is it Clary?"

"She's my sister, don't be disgusting."

"Is it Isabelle?"

"No. She's highly irritating."

"Aline Penhallow?"

"No. Don't be ridiculous."

"Lilith?"

"She's like a mother to me. Of course it's not her."

"Maya?"

"Stop questioning me, dammit! Who the hell even _is_ Maya?"

"Never mind." Jace paused, struck by a sudden thought. "Is your beautiful one even female?"

Sebastian's face went positively incarnadine. "Yes, of course! Now _out_!" he yelled, grabbing Jace by the arm and shoving him out the door forcefully. "And don't you dare go through my stuff again!"

Jace staggered out onto the landing as Sebastian slammed the door so hard the floor shook. He stared at the door for a few seconds, dumbfounded, before hesitantly knocking. Sebastian shouted at him to go away, but Jace didn't. Instead, he said, "I'm sorry, Sebastian."  
Silence came from the other side of the door.

"I was only curious. I won't do it again, I promise." Even Jace was surprised to hear the sincerity in his voice.

"You'd better not, or they'll be hell to pay," shouted Sebastian, after a pause.

Jace went into his own room and shut the door, more quietly than Sebastian, before pulling off his shirt and staring at his reflection in the mirror. Lilith's rune, the rune binding him and Sebastian, had faded considerably. Some parts of it had faded more than others.

Jace now had his own mind back, and he wasn't subject to Sebastian's every whim anymore, but the physical bond between them was still there. He had discovered that yesterday, when Sebastian had cut his finger when attempting to cook dinner and the wound was replicated on Jace's finger. Since then, Jace had done the cooking.

He didn't know if Sebastian knew their bond was broken. Jace had assumed he would know about it immediately, but he hadn't said anything about it. Perhaps he hadn't realised yet.

Or perhaps Sebastian was testing him, to see if Jace would stay.

Which brought another disturbing thought into Jace's head: _why _was he staying? He quickly answered his own question; to spy on him, of course, so he could report back to the Clave. There was no other reason why Jace would stay, none at all. Jace would like nothing better than to go home – if he could call the Institute home – and see Isabelle and Alec again. And Clary, of course.

Clary. Now that was a subject he had been trying desperately to avoid thinking about.

Suddenly, he realised he was still clutching the piece of poem in his hand. He laid it on the palm of his hand, aware that he wasn't only holding a piece of paper. He was holding a fragment of Sebastian's heart in his hand.

Jace was surprised to find Sebastian had one.

He was beginning to feel guilty about spying on Sebastian, but he still couldn't stop himself from inspecting the tiny piece of paper in his hands. On one side, the only legible words were _light of my life, _the words he had glimpsed in Sebastian's room. He turned the piece of paper over. In cramped, slightly smudged handwriting, were the words _eyes of sunlight incarnate._

He looked back at the fragment of paper, wishing he had read the poems properly when he had the chance. He might have gained some more clues about the identity of Sebastian's secret love. And then, suddenly, Jace froze.

Eyes of sunlight incarnate. Those had to be yellow or gold eyes.

Slowly, Jace raised his eyes to the mirror. A boy with light gold eyes stared back at him.

Who else had eyes like that?

Shaking, Jace placed the paper on his bedside table. It wasn't about him. Of course it wasn't about him. _Don't be stupid, _Jace chided himself.

That night was the first night he didn't dream of Clary.

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Reviews would be much appreciated :) Merci!


	2. Chapter 2

**So I'm going to try to update this every Friday, just to let you guys know^^ **

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Jace delicately traced a finger around the edge of Lilith's mark. He and Sebastian could still communicate telepathically, but he was no longer under the other boy's influence. His mind was well and truly his own.

And, like he had told himself yesterday, he was only staying with Sebastian to spy on him for the Clave. To find out his plans, and report them back before the world fell into an apocalypse.

But Sebastian hadn't told Jace about any plans. Jace didn't even know if he _had _a plan. But he must have one, right? He was Sebastian Morgenstern. _Evil genius extraordinaire, _thought Jace to himself with a smirk. If Sebastian himself didn't have a plan, then surely Lilith did. You don't raise your son – and Jace used the term loosely - from the dead and bind him to a random Shadowhunter for no reason.

"You just don't," whispered Jace to himself in frustration.

Sebastian jolted upright in bed to find sunlight streaming through the window. He usually closed the curtains at night, even though nobody could see the house from the outside anyway. It was a habitual thing, and it made him feel safer, even if it was a completely pointless and irrational thing to do.

It definitely wasn't something Valentine would have approved of.

He wondered what had woken him until he heard another knock at his door. Sebastian sighed irritably. "What is it?" he snapped.

"I've cooked eggs," came Jace's voice. "You can come down if you want some."

Sebastian smiled softly in a way he never would if Jace wasn't hidden behind a wooden door. "Yeah, I'm coming. Thanks for waking me up, Herondale." A low chuckle sounded from behind the door.

Sebastian knew he should be angry at Jace, but somehow, he couldn't quite manage it. That was a first, since Sebastian used to be angry every single waking moment of his life.

He entered the kitchen, to find a plate of fried eggs waiting for him on the table. "Where did you learn to cook eggs?" asked Sebastian as he sat down.

"It's not exactly Michelin-star food, Sebastian," said Jace, rolling his eyes. "Even a ten year old could do it."

"Wow. You sure know how to make a guy feel good about himself,"  
muttered Sebastian, stabbing an egg.

Jace eyed him thoughtfully as they ate. It was strange to think that he had killed Sebastian once. Not strange because he had died and come back – after all, Jace had also passed beyond the veil of death and returned - but strange because Jace couldn't imagine killing him now.

And he had no idea what had come over him. _Maybe the bond between us has got to my head. Maybe the bond isn't gone at all. No rational person would want to keep this monster alive. _

"I think it's time we went to see your girlfriend," said Sebastian nonchalantly.

A muscle jumped in Jace's jaw as his fists involuntarily clenched. "Clary?"

"How many other girlfriends do you have?" drawled Sebastian.

"Oh, loads. At least ten." But Jace had suddenly gone cold all over. "Sebastian," he found himself saying, "I have something to tell you about Clary." Jace was hyperaware of the tiny fragment of Sebastian's poetry nestled in his trouser pocket.

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Jace looked at his eggs as though they were the most interesting thing in the world. "I don't... I'm..." He faltered, and cursed inwardly. _I'm usually so good with words. What the hell is going on with you, Jace Wayland? Or should that be Herondale, or Lightwood, or – hell, I don't even know what my surname is! How am I supposed to figure out any of this shit? _"I'm not in love with Clary anymore," said Jace, injecting his voice with bravado. He still daren't look at Sebastian.

Silence.

"Why?" said Sebastian finally.

"I-I just don't." Jace twirled his fork, watching it as if hypnotised.

"But you must have a reason," insisted Sebastian, sounding shaken. _I've probably messed up his plans, _thought Jace.

"I don't," said Jace. "I don't know why I don't love her. I just... don't." He tentatively raised his eyes to Sebastian's.

Sebastian stared at him blankly, then smiled wryly. "How deliciously ironic. When you can't have her, you want her, and when you can have her, you don't. Love is so... illogical."

"Well of course _you _don't understand love," snapped Jace, more harshly than he intended. "You're part _demon." _

Sebastian's eyes widened, looking stricken. Guilt stabbed through Jace, sharp and unexpected. A dark look came over Sebastian's face, and he said, "Don't pretend you know me, Jace Herondale. Don't pretend you know everything – _anything – _about me, and do _not _assume I don't know what love is!" The last few words were nearly a shout, and Sebastian shoved his chair away from the table and stood up.

Jace watched him warily. When Sebastian didn't do anything else, Jace said, "Have you... have you been in love?"

"What makes you think that's any of your damn business?"

Jace bit his lip. "I'm sorry."

Sebastian glanced at him, suspicion deep within his inky-black eyes. "By the Angel, you aren't acting like you at all. Have you been possessed by some sort of benevolent force?"

Jace glared. "Fine. I won't apologise next time." _Asshole._

The ghost of a smile flickered across Sebastian's face. "Good. I'd hate you to display any sign of weakness."

Jace tapped his fingers on the kitchen table for a few moments, then said, "I know you're in love."

Sebastian's head snapped up so fast Jace wouldn't be surprised if he'd given himself whiplash. "What the hell are you talking about, Herondale?"

"I haven't forgotten the poetry." Jace's hand involuntarily went to his trouser pocket. Luckily, Sebastian didn't seem to notice, preoccupied as he was with staring at Jace with the most horrified expression Jace had ever seen in his life. It was almost funny, except Sebastian's fists were curled in anger, and Jace suddenly wished he'd never reminded Sebastian about the stupid poetry.

"Don't you ever," said Sebastian in a low voice, "mention the poetry ever again."

"Alright then, if that's what you want," said Jace amiably. Sebastian looked surprised, but smiled with relief. "But only if you tell me who they're about," added Jace with a sly smile.

Sebastian stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him.

Alec Lightwood winced as he drew the iratze on his skin, watching the trails of golden light on his skin. He waited for the shallow cut on his arm to disappear, but the iratze glimmered out suddenly without healing his wound. Thinking that he must have drawn it slightly wrong, Alec pressed the stele to his arm again and traced the outline of the iratze.

This time, he was sure that he was drawing it correctly, but just as before, the iratze disappeared without performing its sole function.

Isabelle burst into his room without so much as a preliminary knock. "Is your iratze working?" she demanded, waving her stele in the air frantically.

Alec's face gave her all the answer she needed.

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**If you review then I'll love you forever! Oh and I've changed the rating to T, because I was going to write some M chapters later on but I'm not so sure now. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, this update's a day late - I know, I know, I'm terribly unorganised. **

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_Jace's back hit the wall. He groaned aloud as Sebastian kissed him roughly, tongue running over his, their hips grinding together. _

"_S-Sebastian..." _

"_Stop talking," whispered Sebastian, biting Jace's lower lip. Jace cried out, fingers digging into Sebastian's back. Jace felt Sebastian's hand run from his waist down to his hip, and he held back a moan as the hand trailed dangerously low._

_He hooked a leg around Sebastian's waist and pulled him closer, determined to eliminate every centimetre of space between them. Sebastian's fingers traced the waistband of Jace's jeans, torturously slowly..._

"_Dammit," growled Jace. "Stop teasing me, Sebastian."_

"_Teasing?" murmured Sebastian, lips a hair's breadth away from Jace's. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean." His fingers ghosted over the front of Jace's jeans._

"_You know exactly what I mean," said Jace. "Please. P-Please... fuck me, Sebastian..."_

"_I'd never thought I'd see the day when Jace Herondale would _beg," _said Sebastian, amusement dancing in his voice. _

_Jace gritted his teeth. _

_Seeing his partner's frustration, Sebastian grinned, and unbuttoned Jace's jeans._

"Sebastian!" cried Jace out loud, waking up with a jolt. He blinked into the lightening room, momentarily confused. His dream came back to him, causing his face to flush with colour. _Obviously, _thought Jace to himself, _that dream was the confused and slightly crazy product of an unconscious mind, like when I dreamed I was getting chased across Alicante by giant apples. Clearly, it's not wish-fulfilment. That would just be absurd._

* * *

Sebastian was eating an unidentifiable yellow mess of _something, _spotted with black and brown. Jace eyed it distastefully as he entered the kitchen and made himself a bowl of cereal.

Sebastian looked up, and said, "I had a go at making some eggs."

Jace turned around, bowl in hand, and stared incredulously at Sebastian's plate. "Eggs? Those are supposed to be eggs? It looks like some sort of weird alien life form!"

"It tastes alright," snapped Sebastian, taking another mouthful.

Jace looked at the mangled eggs again. "You seem to be a marginally better cook than Isabelle, at least." He sat down at the table, opposite Sebastian.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. He poked at his eggs with his fork, before a smile flickered across his face. "Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, I did," said Jace absently, before he frowned at how uncharacteristic the question was, and looked up. Sebastian was smirking.

Jace felt like his entire body had been dunked in ice-cold water. _Shit. He knows._

"This bond we share," murmured Sebastian, "it's quite a remarkable thing. I, for instance, shared every moment of your dream, and very interesting it was, too..."

Jace blushed. "I was absolutely disgusted when I woke up. Like I would ever touch a worm like you."

Sebastian's smirk grew. "Well, you certainly touched _my _worm in that dream, if you know what I m-"

"Shut the hell up, Sebastian! If your dick looks like a worm, I think you ought to be quite concerned!"

"It doesn't. I can prove it, if you want."

"No!" spluttered Jace. "I _don't _want! I don't even want to be _here! _I want to go back to the Institute, not holed up in this stupid magic house with a homicidal half-demonic maniac!"

Sebastian stilled.

After an achingly long pause, in which Jace's heart was beating so hard with terror he could feel his too-fast pulse beating in his neck, Sebastian spoke. "Then why haven't you left? The bond is broken. You could have left any time."

"I-I... I don't..." Jace faltered. "How long have you known?"

"That the bond was broken? As soon as it happened, idiot," said Sebastian scathingly.

Jace paused. He could have said or done a number of things, at this point. He could have asked Sebastian why he hadn't mentioned it before. He could have asked Sebastian if he had wanted Jace to stay. Or he could have even walked out there and then, exiting the apartment and Sebastian's life forever, and going back to the Institute.

But he didn't. Instead, for some reason that was hidden even from himself, he changed tack completely. "I may have lied."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you going on about now, Herondale?"

"I may have lied about you being a maniac. I don't – I don't think that." Jace bit his lip, wondering if the bond was actually intact after all. Surely he _did _think Sebastian was an evil, psychopathic monster? Surely he hated him? "I know what's it's like to be raised by a monster," whispered Jace. "I know what it's like to think you have demon blood-"

"The difference between me and you is that I actually _do _have demon blood," pointed out Sebastian with impatience.

Jace stared at the barely-touched soggy cereal floating around in his bowl. "It doesn't matter," said Jace decisively. "I thought I had demon blood once, and I acted like a little shit. Even before I thought I did, I still acted like a little shit, and I have angel blood – and I'm pretty sure angels don't act like little shits. The point is, it doesn't matter what blood Valentine injected us with, or whatever the hell he did with it. It doesn't matter that you have demon blood, or that I have angel blood. What matters is... is who we choose to be."

"Wow," said Sebastian dryly. "How wise of you."

"You aren't taking me seriously!" cried Jace, slamming his fist on the table with impatience. The bowl of cereal jumped, milk splashing over the side. "Why can't you take me seriously?"

"Because I know I am a demon. I know I cannot feel real emotion-"

"Then what the hell is that poetry sitting upstairs?" roared Jace, losing his temper entirely. "You've let Valentine brainwash you! You aren't some cold, unfeeling monster, you're a fucking human! Your demon blood didn't burn out your humanity, it only hid it, and I _know _you're still human inside!"

"I thought I told you never to mention that poetry again." But Sebastian didn't should angry; instead, he sounded oddly resigned.

"Yeah well, maybe I don't have to do whatever you say."

Sebastian smiled again, and absently ate a forkful of eggs. He grimaced, and pushed them aside. "Absolutely horrendous," he muttered to himself. He stood up, and walked over to Jace. Jace looked up at him with trepidation. "Get up," commanded Sebastian, so forcefully that Jace hastily obeyed.

"What-" But Jace didn't get to finish his sentence, as Sebastian's lips softly pressed against his own.

It was a world away from the fevered, heated kiss of Jace's dream, and yet Jace found this was even better than he had imagined. Sebastian's eyes were closed, and his lips moved gently against Jace's. Jace wrapped his arms around the other boy, deepening the kiss, eliciting a soft moan from Sebastian.

They broke apart slightly, enough for Sebastian to murmur, "The poetry. It was about you." Both Sebastian and Jace knew that this was the former's way of admitting his love.

"I know," said Jace, and they both knew he meant that he loved Sebastian back.

And then they were kissing again, and this time it _was _like Jace's dream, and Jace found himself getting pushed onto the kitchen table –

"Shit," groaned Jace, "You pushed me on your abomination of an attempt at cooking."

"Oh well," shrugged Sebastian, straddling him.

"It's really uncomfortable," said Jace matter-of-factly.

Sebastian reached under him, retrieved the plate and threw it across the room, where it shattered. The remains of the eggs splattered across the wall.

"_Sebastian," _reproached Jace.

Sebastian knocked the bowl of cereal off the table, mumbling that it was getting in the way, before nipping at the skin of Jace's neck. Jace bit back a groan as Sebastian's lips travelled downwards, across his chest – _when the hell had my shirt become undone anyway?_ – teasing at the most sensitive parts of his chest, as though Sebastian knew precisely how to make him shiver.

And then, the most impossible and unlikely thing Jace could imagine happened.

There was a knock at the door.

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**Remember to review, please!^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Sorry, slightly late chapter again. I know, I know, I'm terrible sometimes. **

* * *

There was thirty seconds of silence, broken only by the loud ticking of a clock, before the knock came again.

"Impossible," breathed Sebastian, pushing Jace off him and staring in the direction of the door. "_Impossible!" _

Jace, who was standing next to the table buttoning his shirt, gave Sebastian a wry look. "So are you going to answer it?"

"Of course," said Sebastian through gritted teeth. "I have to know who the _hell _this is." He marched out the kitchen door and threw open the front door. Jace craned his neck, trying to see past Sebastian. He thought he caught a glimpse of long, dark hair.

"Hello, Jonathan," said a musical, faintly accented female voice. "Is your mother in?"

"Very funny," came Sebastian's cold voice. "You know very well where she is."

_Why does the woman want to know about Jocelyn? _thought Jace, a frown creasing his forehead. He heard Sebastian give a sigh of exasperation. "I think you'd better come in."

"I thought you'd never ask," said the woman. A few moments later, and Sebastian came stomping back into the kitchen, the woman following. She was wearing a long white dress, which contrasted sharply with her brown skin and black hair. She raised an eyebrow at Jace. "And who is this?"

"My name is Jace Lightwood," said Jace quickly before Sebastian could say anything. Jace saw him frown slightly. Sebastian never liked it when Jace referred to himself as part of Alec and Isabelle's family. "And I'm... helping Sebastian." At this, a look of pure shock came over Sebastian's face.

"Ah," said the woman lightly. "A rogue Shadowhunter." She gave a smile that was devoid of warmth, before extending her hand towards him. "My name is Eve."

Jace shook her hand. "What's your last name?" he asked.

Eve gave a delicate shrug of the shoulders. "I was never given one." With a twirl of her dress, she deposited herself in one of the chairs, without bothering to ask Sebastian for permission. Her eyes went to the cracked bowl of cereal on the floor, and the remains of the plate of eggs. "Has somebody had a tantrum?" she enquired sweetly.

"Eve," said Sebastian flatly. "Either you tell me what the hell you're doing here, or you leave. Now."

"You and I both know you couldn't make me leave even if you wanted to," said Eve. Seeing Sebastian's jaw clench, she smiled again, and said, "I'm here because I need to talk to the Shadowhunters, and you're the only Shadowhunter who I want to talk to."

"Why me?" asked Sebastian, exasperated. "We hate each other."

"I don't hate you, I hate your mother," said Eve with an airy wave of her hand. "And you hate me because your mother hates me too. Can we just take Lilith out of the equation for a couple of hours or so while I explain to you why I'm here?"

"Why don't you go to one of the more reputable Shadowhunters?" Sebastian shot back.

"Because all of the Institutes are being watched," said Eve simply, "and you're the only one I know who isn't part of one." She glanced at Jace, before looking back to Sebastian. "Alright. So here's the problem. Raziel is in a little spot of bother with Gabriel."

"I see," muttered Sebastian. "And?"

"It's over the Shadowhunters. You see, Raziel never actually asked Gabriel's permission before he created you. The other archangels only put up with it for so long because you were doing Earth a favour. Without you, the world would probably have fallen to demonic influences long ago. But Gabriel never agreed with giving humans – low as you beings are – angelic powers."

"So why is Gabriel only getting into a huff over it now?" snapped Sebastian, losing patience.

"Because of your dear father," said Eve, "and because of you. Gabriel thinks you Shadowhunters might be getting a little wayward. Humans, after all, are flawed beings. Evil Shadowhunters could pose a great threat to the earth, and you and Valentine proved. So Gabriel has decided to take away your powers."

"What?" yelled Jace. "He can do that?"

Eve gave him a cool and slightly startled look, as though she had only just remembered he was there. "He most certainly can."

"And what does God have to say about this?" asked Sebastian with a smirk.

Eve rolled her eyes. "You know Father keeps himself to himself these days. Could be dead for all we know. Gabriel's the one who acts as the messenger between him and the other angels. Only Gabriel's the one who has any interaction with him at all."

"He could be dead," ventured Sebastian.

"Don't say that," said Jace immediately. He had never really thought himself that religious, not really – but he had always believed in God. It was kind of hard not to when you possessed powers supposedly given to you by an angel, although he did find himself doubting. But to say that God was dead – it gave Jace the shivers.

A thought struck him. "You're Eve, aren't you?"

"Yes, I said that upon my arrival."

"No," said Jace, shaking his head, "you're _the _Eve. The Garden of Eden one. The cause of the Fall of Man."

"Yes, that's me," grinned Eve. She looked prouder than she should have at Jace mentioning that she had caused the Fall of Man, in his opinion. "And I've escaped from heaven to tell Lilith's brat about Gabriel's plan. I suppose you both know I can't go back now."

"Lilith isn't Sebastian's mother," said Jace, looking between Eve and Sebastian. "Jocelyn is."

"She's as good as," said Sebastian. "She raised me for six years."

"She _what?"_

"Look," barked Eve, "you boys can talk about this later. Right now, we have to come up with a plan."

"Can it involve demons?" asked Sebastian, a gleam in his eye.

"_No," _said Eve firmly, "it can not involve demons."

"Damn. Not even Lilith?"

"Lilith isn't in a position to be involved with anything right now. No, I have a better ally for us. Michael."

"The archangel?" said Sebastian.

"Obviously." Eve's lip curled. "Michael and I don't have a plan, as such – so we thought you could help us, Sebastian A Shadowhunter. And you too, Jace," she added, as though he was nothing more than an afterthought. Jace scowled.

"Great!" Sebastian looked genuinely excited. "Rebelling against the Messenger of God? I can't _wait!"_

Jace did not share his enthusiasm.

* * *

Sebastian stared out of his bedroom window. Eve had left a few hours ago, with a promise that she would be back again soon. The apartment was currently in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Jace had complained about being cold, so naturally the only possible solution was to relocate right next to the equator until he was begging to go to Alaska.

He picked his stele off the bedside table and absently turned it over in his hands, simply for something to do. He had drawn a strength rune on himself earlier on, only to find that it didn't work in the slightest. Eve was right. Gabriel had taken away Shadowhunters' powers. It was a terrifying thought, to be nearly as helpless as a mundane.

Nearly.

Sebastian's gaze swept over the bustling markets brimming with exotic fruits and brightly coloured fabrics, but his mind was on something else completely.

He wasn't really used to feeling emotion. Valentine had always taught him that to show emotion was to show weakness, and that to love was to destroy. Sebastian had certainly not felt anything like this before – a maelstrom of emotions whirling inside him, ripping his heart to shreds.

Valentine would most likely have a fit if he saw his son now. Especially if he found out that his sons had fallen in love with each other.

Or at least, that Sebastian had fallen in love with Jace. Sebastian had no idea how Jace really felt about him, and he didn't want to ask. He feared the answer.

Sebastian swallowed, still gazing out of the window. When Lilith had taken him away from Valentine at the age of twelve, she had taught him that not all emotions were as terrible as Valentine had made them out to be. She had told him he did have the capacity for love, no matter what Valentine had told him, and that to love was _not _to destroy.

Sebastian gave a short laugh. The Mother of Warlocks and the first of all demons had taught him more positive things about love and happiness than his Shadowhunter father. What a twisted world.

Maybe Gabriel was right.


End file.
